New Delhi: More than 1,000 Indians will be among 2 million young people expected at the World Youth Days (WYD) in Krakow, Poland.

The delegates representing some 175 countries will gather together with Pope Francis for the July 26-31 celebrations of youth, Thomas Lukasuk, ambassador of the Republic of Poland, told a press conference in New Delhi on April 19.

The Polish government has decided to issue free visa for the Indian participants who apply through its consulates in New Delhi and Mumbai, the ambassador announced. The registration will end June end and the Indian Catholic Youth Movement is the national coordinator of WYD in India, he added.

Lukasuk described the mega event as an ecumenical meet where young people of all religions from all over the world will get an opportunity to know and learn from each other.

The press conference at the Press Club of India was jointly organized by the Polish embassy, Apostolic Nunciature and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).

Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan, deputy secretary general of the bishops’ conference, said Bishop Henry D’Souza of Bellary will lead the Indian delegation.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio described the World Youth Days as “beautiful dialogue between young people and the Church.”

The theme chosen is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy,” in tune with the Year of Mercy now being observed throughout the Universal Church.

The nuncio explained that Krakow was chosen as the venue of the world event since it is associated with two promoters of the Divine Mercy – Saints Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, popularly known as Sr Faustina, and John Paul II.

Sister Faustina, who died in 1938 aged 33, was a Christian mystic. She claimed to have received apparitions of Jesus Christ that inspired the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy. She spent her final years in Krakow, the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland.

Her canonization process was launched in 1965 by the then Archbishop Karol Wojtyła of Kraków, who later became Pope John Paul II. The Pope beatified her in 1993 and canonized her seven years later.

During his stay in Poland, Pope Francis will visit the Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Łagiewniki and the Chapel of Sister Faustina.

Both the Polish ambassador and the nuncio noted that the WYD takes place when Poland observes its 1050th anniversary of the country’s acceptance of Christian faith.

Pope Francis, who will arrive in Poland on July 27, will meet with the President of the Republic of Poland, state officials and Polish bishops.

In the evening, he will follow a tradition started by Pope John Paul II and continued by Pope Benedict XVI and appear in the Papal Window of the Bishop’s House to address young people. This will be his first meeting with young people in Krakow.

The Pope will visit Jasna Góra Sanctuary in Częstochowa on July 28, the 25th anniversary of the World Youth Day in Czestochowa.

He will celebrate Mass to mark 1050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland on the defense shafts of Jasna Góra. The following day he will visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former German Nazi death camp.

The WYD will conclude with Mass on July 31.

This is the second time Poland is hosting the World Youth Day. The previous one took place in Czestochowa in 1991 and gathered 1.5 million participants from all over the world.

Krakow, situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, dates back to the 7th century. It was the capital of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1038 to 1569. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland’s most important economic hubs.

The previous WYD was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second most populous city, and focused on the Beatitudes.

The Catholic Church organizes the triennial World Youth Day as a worldwide encounter of the youth with the Pope. The Church has designated Saint John Paul II and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta as the patron saints of the event.

Pope John Paul II started it in 1985. For the first WYD in 1986, bishops all over the world were invited to schedule an annual youth event to be held every Palm Sunday in their dioceses. It is celebrated at the diocesan level annually, and at the international level every two to three years at different locations.

The 1995 World Youth Day closing Mass in the Philippines set a world record for the largest number of people gathered for a single religious event (with 5 million attendees). This record was surpassed 20 years later in the same country when 6 million attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis.